Kara Charette nets team-high 22 points

RINDGE, N.H. (January 29, 2014) -- Five Ravens scored in double-figures and the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to pull off a tremendous 97-88 win over first-place Adelphi on Wednesday night at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

The Ravens won their third straight and seventh in the last eight to improve to 11-7 overall and 8-5 in the Northeast-10, while the Panthers fell to 14-5 and 8-5 in league play. Adelphi had come into the game in first place of the Southwest Division standings in the NE-10.

The individual highlight of the night came from senior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.), who had 17 points to top the 1,000-point mark for her impressive career. Martelle's second basket of the game -- a layup at the 18:15 mark -- gave her the career scoring accomplishment. She became the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 in a career, and currently stands at 1,014.

The Ravens were led in scoring by sophomore forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.), who had a game-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Senior Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) followed with 19 points, while sophomore Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) joined Martelle with 17 points as well. Junior Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) chipped in with 11 points.

Those five double-figure scorers were part of an outstanding offensive attack for Franklin Pierce in the second half, as the Ravens shot a blistering 70 percent from the floor (19-of-27), including an even more impressive 75-percent clip from beyond the arc (6-of-8).

The hot shooting came after the Ravens struggled some in the first half by going just 38 percent from the field.

Franklin Pierce trailed 47-34 at the break, but quickly chipped away at the deficit early in the second half, keyed by a 15-2 run to take a 59-57 lead with 11:26 remaining. Gardner had eight points during the surge, including a pair of three's and a layup to cap it. Charette helped it with three-straight points to open the rally, and then laid in another basket moments later.

The teams settled into trading baskets for the next several minutes, but the Ravens broke that trend with a quick 7-0 run to open up a 10-point lead at 84-74 with 3:05 to go. Gardner dropped in a jumper, and Martelle followed by bombing in a three and hiting a driving layup.

Adelphi tried to rally, but the Ravens were able to counter those baskets with clutch free throw shooting late. Martelle converted a quartet of foul shots , while Charette, Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.), and Coderre each knocked down a pair as well. 

While Franklin Pierce was lights out shooting in the second 20 minutes, the Panthers were the complete opposite by only going for 39 percent from the floor. That came after Adelphi had shot really well from the field in the first half at a 55-percent clip.

Jessica Kitrys pumped in a team-high 20 points for Adelphi, while Jenna Halaby and Sade Jackson added 16 and 14, respectively. Tara Flynn came off the pine to pour in 12 points.
Wednesday's matchup also featured the top-two scorers in the league between Kitrys and Charette. Kitrys was first with an 18.9 points per game average, and Charette was right behind at 18.1. However, the latter got the better of the offensive output on the night.

Adelphi got some separation late in the first half by going on a 16-3 run to open up a 38-25 advantage. Kelli Mannix spearheaded the effort with seven points, while Sade Jackson chipped in five.

The Panthers closed out the half strong in taking the 13-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens travel to Syracuse, N.Y. to face Le Moyne in a 12 p.m. tip.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase women's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)